1. Field
The disclosed embodiments relate to firearms. More specifically the disclosed embodiments relate to methods and systems for modifying a magazine locking mechanism of a firearm, and a firearm with a locking magazine release.
2. Related Art
Laws and policy controlling the sale and transfer of firearms continue to evolve. Some jurisdictions have considered or have passed various regulations attempting to prevent firearms from being sold that would enable a criminal or terrorist to shoot multiple rounds of ammunition in a short period of time. Such laws are often politically controversial. However, the result is a demand to develop new firearms that comply with such regulations or to develop methods and systems to modify existing firearms so that such firearms are compliant with the regulations.
An example of such a regulation passed in California classifies weapons with magazine release button that allow for the quick removal and reinstallation of magazines as assault rifles. This includes magazine release buttons that require tools to operate. The regulation requires current owners of such weapons to register the firearm as a registered assault weapon (RAW). Transfer of a RAW under the regulations is prohibited, event in the event of death.
For a firearm to not be considered an assault rifle, the firearm's action must be open for the magazine to be released. One way this is done is for the firearm to be at least partially disassembled to remove the magazine.
Examples of firearms that have a magazine release button to remove a magazine include the popular AR-15 rifle, including the many variations on the AR-15 platform, and the AR-308. An example of an AR-15 rifle 100 is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The rifle 100 has a magazine release button 102 that releases a magazine 104 for quick removal of the magazine 104 to quickly reinstall a new magazine 104. Thus, the typical AR-15 rifle would likely be considered an assault rifle under the California regulation.
Given the popularity of the AR-15, there are proposed methods of modifying the rifle to comply with the regulation. In these proposals, the rifle 100 is modified so that the magazine release button 102 is rendered inoperable until after the rifle 100 is disassembled such that the rifle cannot be fired. For example, the rifle is modified so that a magazine release button 102 will not work until a rear take down pin 108 is removed and the upper receiver 110 is pivoted away from the lower receiver 112 via the pivot pin 106.
In these previously proposed methods, the modifications to the gun may be considered unsightly. For example, the previous proposed modifications require a large, thick lever arm between the upper receiver and the magazine release button. Further, the required pivoting of the upper receiver with respect to the lower receiver for the magazine release button to enable is large, making the process awkward. Many of the proposed modifications also require epoxy to make the modified parts unremovable from the outside.
Another prior solution includes removing the rear takedown pin and pivoting the upper receiver forward to meet that requirement. Most current solutions for magazine locks that requires disassembly of the action rely on pivoting the upper receiver on the front pin to create a space between the upper and lower receivers so the lock can disengage the magazine release.
This includes two publicly released designs such as the AR maglock described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,756,846 and the Patriot Mag Release described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,182,186. Both have a L-shaped lip that touches the upper receiver and prevents movement of the mag catch when the rifle is fully assembled and once the upper receiver swings away, the magazine can be released.
In order to fully comply with law, the action must be dissembled to the point that the firearm is not able to fire. Accordingly, there is a need for methods to modify firearms to require complete disassembly of the action so that the firearm cannot be fired in order to remove a magazine.
In some cases, the rifle will double feed. In this case, the bolt carrier group is partially locked back and one round is partially in the chamber, the second is either ½ in the mag and into the barrel area or inside of the gun. The safe way to clear this is to remove the magazine and drop out the extra rounds and to pull back the charging handle. Since the bolt is partially retracted, a user can't rotate the upper out of the way to clear the magazine release so a user has to clear this with the magazine in the firearm making it dangerous. In the other designs, the retracted or partially retracted bolt carrier group prevents the action from opening and releasing the magazine.
Accordingly, more convenient, safe, and attractive modifications are necessary to modify a rifle so that it can be compliant with such regulations.